Asus ZenBook Pro 15 review: The idea of innovation

For so long as technology has been around, innovation has been the name of the sport. In 2018, that ‘sport’ is set round shows. We have already seen hand-held gadgets with more screen-to-body ratio and 90Hz AMOLED displays (Asus ROG Phone) and what now not. But when we talk approximately huge display computing machines like laptops, there hasn’t been as plenty innovation compared to the handhelds. Perhaps Asus is an exception as it seems to be on a path to set new benchmarks in phrases of display innovation in laptops. Of direction, we are speaking about the recently added Asus ZenBook Pro 15. It ‘owned’ the Computex 2018 in advance this yr and appears to prepare to very own the premium Indian pc market. The highlight of the tool is none aside from its secondary display embedded properly at the touchpad location, something that Asus phrases as the ‘ScreenPad’.
The review unit we acquired prices Rs 2,09,990 and is the pinnacle of the line device sporting Intel Core i9 processor, contact display UHD display and Nvidia GeForce GPU. As OEMs recognize by way of now, India is a tough marketplace for top rate devices. The audience is the area of interest and the opposition is aggressive in each section. As Mark Twain as soon as stated, “The guy with the brand new idea is a crank – till it succeeds”. So is the brand new concept a “crank” or does Asus succeed in making it a cut above the rest? We were using the new laptop on the grounds that beyond few days, here’s our Asus ZenBook Pro 15 (UX580G) review.

Design
In the case of Asus ZenBook Pro 15, beauty lies in the eyes of the consumer. Being ‘typical’ Asus, the ZenBook Pro 15 (UX580G) flaunts the aluminum build with concentric hairline circles, something that has stayed uniform throughout one of a kind Asus merchandise for years. The unit we were given to study turned into Royal Blue color variation that looks stylish with a pinch of premium-ness to it. The pc is a smudge and a fingerprint magnet to some extent but you won’t need to smooth it frequently. The texture stays the equal on the internal as well during the keyboard area.
That ‘pinch of top class-ness’ we have been speak me approximately comes from the golden metallic strip walking thru the edges. Asus calls it as ‘Rose Gold Diamond cut chamfered side.’ The 15-inch model isn’t the slimmest (1.89 cm) however remains really worth the appreciation because it has every other display screen positioned on the touchpad. The standard footprint, however, remains greater than other premium laptops coming from Dell and HP in their XPS and Spectre manufacturers. It also weighs 1.8kg, something you may stay with.
Since it’s not paper-thin, the ZenBook Pro manages to convey some connectivity functions on board together with the three.5mm headphone slot, 2 Type-C USB three.1 Gen 2 (Thunderbolt), 2 Type-A USB 3.1 Gen 1, HDM and a microSD card reader. The most effective thing missing right here is the LAN port but you do get a USB to LAN port converter within the container so there’s no issue on that the front.
Coming to the keyboard, it is fairly comfy to paintings upon. Moving from a top class computer or even a mid-ranged one to the ZenBook Pro 15 could infrequently be a problem. The backlit keys have excellent traveling time and are well-spaced. You get sufficient area on both facet of the ScreenPad, under the keyboard location to relaxation your palm even as typing.

However, since the ScreenPad (greater on that later) is slightly larger than your traditional touchpads visible in a laptop, you can regularly find your hands brushing in opposition to the sides of the screen, resulting in unexpected cursor moves and clicks. What you may locate exceptional here is that the quantity and display screen brightness buttons are configured as defaults so that you don’t ought to press the characteristic key usually.
On the bottom, you get a plain appearance with two audio system on either aspect. It additionally has four rubber lids on the corners to hold the ZenBook Pro 15 few millimeters above the floor.
The standard design language did impress us to a certain level given the mix of simplicity and premium-ness. The steel appearance is attractive and the keyboard is fairly easy to use. The 15-inch model is absolutely not the lightest in the section but is still lighter and greater portable than few others. But what approximately the show?
Display
The show region is something that even though is not bezel-less like a few different top class laptops but remains wonderful based on how properly it handles colorations, brightness, and evaluation. You get noticeable bezels on each aspect. Nonetheless, Asus calls it ‘NanoEdge’ bezel this is 7.3mm thick. The 15.6-inch 4K UHD display screen offers a crisp and well-balanced content material to view. It has 1200:1 contrast ratio which is absolutely now not common with laptops, alongside 400 nits brightness so that running even as sitting out of doors beneath the solar is not a stress for your eyes. Also, the viewing angles are correct with this one. Asus claims the Zenbook Pro 15 to sport a huge perspective view of up to 178-tiers.

Asus has to bring forward its display customizations to the ZenBook Pro 15 as nicely. Here you get a gaggle of software tweaks for the display. These encompass now not simply the Asus Splendid Display generation however additionally the color temperature settings and color gamut control as properly. If you’re an Asus computer or a telephone owner, the term ‘Splendid’ show tech should ring a bell. For starters, it is a software to optimize the viewing revel in because it offers you the option to pick among 4 distinct viewing modes, converting the colors, assessment and the brightness of every one.
What you gained’t be capable of seeing prematurely is the color temperature correction that adjustments the pre-sets to reveal extra correct colors. This, together with coloration gamut management show near actual-lifestyles colorations. Furthermore, the top-cease version (which we reviewed) is Pantone certified. So actually no proceedings there.
Performance
The ZenBook Pro 15 may be called because of the absolute powerhouse in phrases of overall performance. It not just boasts the maximum effective computing processor however also outstanding GPUs and memory to complement it. The device is of the route a ‘top rate’ computer in an effort to count on the nice aggregate of CPUs, GPUs, and storage. The unit we reviewed become powered with the aid of the Intel Core i9-8950HK processor. This additionally makes ZenBook Pro 15 one of the few to deliver this processor in the united states of America. What you get in addition to this effective processor is the 16GB DDR4 (2400MHz) RAM and 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen 3X4 M.2 SSD. Topping it all is the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti with 4GB devoted reminiscence, which isn’t always a bad set of capabilities on a laptop. Together they paintings in tandem to address the heaviest of animation and rendering masses, all at the same time as searching elegant. Although the computer is not aimed mainly for gamers, it may nevertheless play a few heavy titles at max settings. Rendering films on Adobe Premiere Pro, browsing on numerous tabs, playing 4K movies and more ought to be a breeze with the ZenBook Pro 15.
However, one of the important drawbacks we witnessed throughout heavy or even daily usage changed into that the ZenBook Pro 15 fantastically gets all heated up proper across the center of the keyboard vicinity. Let or not it’s playing games or gambling videos for long hours or even as charging, you can feel the tool getting extensively warm. The vents, however, are cleverly located on the underside of the display hinge, which makes it tough to identify.
Talking about the cooling gadget, Asus has incorporated twin fan machine to beat the warmth coming from the Intel and Nvidia processors. Also, the company provides that it needed to remodel the battery module to fit the 2mm thick ScreenPad inside the confined place.
Some credit of the performance also is going to the operating device with which nearly absolutely everyone is familiar with. Windows 10 brings its personal set of capabilities along with Windows Hello authentication as nicely. As an introduced safety layer you get a fingerprint sensor on the proper side of the ScreenPad as properly. Asus too has its suite of apps pre-established inside the ZenBook Pro 15 together with Asus Keyboard hotkeys, Asus Giftbox, and a couple extra.

A unique attention has been given to the audio department inside the ZenBook Pro 15 and it’s certainly wonderful. The computer makes use of Harman Kardon tuned audio that is thrown out the use of Realtek speakers, an aggregate that grants a noisy but clean audio. The distortion is dealt with properly and song across special genres are wealthy. Asus says the computer has a Smart Amplifier that delivers most volume feasible without unfavorable the speakers. This, in addition to the agency’s SonicMaster audio tech, works wonders inside the audio branch, making it an extraordinary multimedia tool.
So now that we’re executed explaining the performance and the running gadget, what remains to be pointed out at duration is the latest, one among a type and ‘modern’ ScreenPad.
The robust ‘ScreenPad’
Like we stated above – innovation is the name of the sport and on the subject of laptops, Asus appears to be on the pinnacle of it. You can see this right away while you open the ZenBook Pro 15. While the OEMs are operating on slimming down their top rate laptops and stuffing heavy specifications in them, Asus has taken a bold method here and has added some thing which we will say is absolutely ‘new’ in laptops in 2018.
The new ‘ScreenPad’ doesn’t simply sit there as a standard touchpad with customizable wallpapers however it’s miles an actual 2d display which could open apps on the main display, play the song, and even play YouTube videos. So even if you need to look at the one’s funny cat movies or binge watch a series on Netflix even as in an office, this just makes it easier.
But aside from that it sincerely is an effective tool. It is undertaking-unique, something like what’s there with Apple MacBook Pro’s TouchBar however in a 5. Five-inch complete HD IPS+ display screen form. When you boot up a brand new device, it shows you all of the introductory contents on it, explaining you all the features.

Just so you know, the ScreenPad has a devoted launcher that can be accessed by using swiping down the small bar visible on top of the display. That is your gateway to launch apps on the primary 15.6-inch display in a simpler manner. It is possible to play YouTube videos on it as nicely. No, there’s no devoted app yet for it but you may nevertheless open YouTube in a brand new Chrome tab and drag it down to open it on the small display screen. Since it acts as a full-fledged 2d display, you get a small cursor to minimize the window, play, pause the video and near the tab.
Asus has worked with Microsoft Office to bring customized features at the ScreenPad when you open Word, PowerPoint or Excel. For instance, opening Word will provide you with shortcuts to save the document, exchange the textual content colors or format it.
In addition to this, you get committed apps for the track player, calculator, numeric pad, Calendar (connected to Microsoft Calendar app). What we determined thrilling become the Asus Sync characteristic that connects your cellphone wirelessly with the laptop, letting you text or take calls right from the ScreenPad itself. You also can get Adobe Reader Sign extension or open Asus SpeechTyper to get the paintings finished.
If this wasn’t enough, the ScreenPad receives you around a dozen finger gestures you can perform to access content material quick.
However, whilst the use of it we did feel at times that Asus has loads to do to make ScreenPad a tool that enhances the software opened on the primary screen. You can say it as the extended version of the TouchBar however with extra potential use cases given it is a five. Five-inch screen. However, a few extra builders coming onboard for ScreenPad may want to assist Asus to make a better use of it in future.
Most of the times we ended up using it for YouTube films and firing up positive apps like the calculator, calendar, and Microsoft Word. For the whole lot else it changed into easier to access content the traditional way. But of the path, this varies from person to person.